FCC’s Carr Holds Sway Over Local TV Stations Eager to Merge

A storm over late-night TV comedy has given local station owners a chance to curry favor with the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission, which must ultimately bless any of their merger plans and approve regulatory reforms they’re seeking.

Two major owners — Nexstar Media Group Inc. and Sinclair Inc. — both announced this week they would pull ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their broadcasts over remarks he made about the killing of GOP activist Charlie Kirk. ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co., suspended the program indefinitely.

Station groups don’t typically criticize their national partners so openly. Their public pronouncements ...